Fish Food

Holy Moses.  So much has been going on over here!  I feel like I am just now catching my breath after these last few weeks.  

One of the new things is that Hubs and I are TRYING to eat healthier.  We are pathetic when it comes to healthy eating, because we are so picky about what we eat.  It has been a huge challenge since we got married...almost a year ago!!  

We started simple...replacing spaghetti noodles with spaghetti squash.  It's amazing...try it!  Next, we decided to try fish.  This was a HUGE step for us.  I have NEVER eaten fish before...I don't even like THINKING about fish.  *Shudder*  And Hubs, is VERY particular when it comes to eating fish.  

Now, because this was a first for us, we made a few mistakes.  Mistake #1:  We bought frozen, already seasoned, fish from Target.  I have no idea if frozen fish is ever good, but it is most certainly the wrong place to start if you're a first-timer.  Mistake #2:  We ate it.  We both kind of thought we shouldn't be doing the frozen fish thing, but our lazy selves did it anyway.  Fast forward to us scarfing down Izzo's, while barely touched fish (we each took one bite) sat on plates next to the queso.

Tragedy.  This was honestly no surprise to us.  The biggest surprise to us was that we actually attempted to be "healthy" and eat the fish.  Izzo's wasn't just our back-up plan, it was our reward for trying.  Another tragedy.  Who thinks like this?!

But alas, a breakthrough in the fish eating world!  Hub's good friend, our new "culinary expert", gave us a fool-proof fish recipe.  


Baked Tilapia:
Fresh Tilapia...we got ours from Whole Foods (super cheap).
Citrus Pepper...also from Whole Foods.
Hubs soaked the fish in milk for a little while...no idea if this is necessary, but with our fish history we weren't taking chances!  He then rinsed the fish, sprayed each side with cooking spray, sprinkled Citrus Pepper on both sides and broiled it in a pan for 8 minutes.  


I wish there was a video of how fast I ate dinner that night.  The fish was delicious and we are hooked!  It's probably the easiest thing in history to cook and it's so good.  

Sorry there are no pictures, I literally ate it THAT fast.

Wedding Guest Book

Summertime = weddings and weddings = decisions...a lot of them.  Here is a fun idea for a different kind of guest book for any type of wedding.  I am incredibly indecisive in every area of my life and it took my forever to commit to this idea for our wedding book, but I am so happy we did.  It has made a perfect addition to our living room wall too!

I ordered this letter from UncleJohnsCabin on Etsy.  It is very well made and looks great in person...lots of paint colors to choose from too!

  

Spaghetti Squash

I never (ever) thought I would be that person posting about healthy food alternatives.  I have a very limited food palette...aka I eat like a very picky child.  Plus, I can't cook.  Unless, of course, you're a hungry child...then I have you covered!

So, apparently the new "IT" thing is spaghetti squash.  Actually, I'm almost positive that I'm just real real late to the healthy food party.  But it's all I've been hearing about lately and there are tons of recipes for it online, so I gave in and tried it.

HOLY SQUASH.  

Hubs actually cooked this meal, but I found the recipe.  So, really I made this happen.

Neither one of us had ever tried spaghetti squash and we were both AMAZED by how good it was.  Seriously, if I can EAT it and ENJOY it...you know it's good!

Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Original recipe

We loooooved it, but I was too full to finish mine!  Healthy AND it fills you up!  WIN.

Car Trouble

This is how my day started yesterday morning...3 houses down from where I work.  I mean, REALLY?!  I could have walked to work, but apparently you can't abandon a car in the middle of an intersection...

OH, and after Hubs came and jumped my car (so I could drive it 20 seconds down the road), it works perfectly fine.  REALLY?!?!?!!!  

I'm just so thankful there are still non-creepy nice people in this world!

  

Friday Crush: Summertime

I heart every single thing about summertime...yes, even the heat.  Scratch that...I loathe shaving my legs...so I guess there is one thing I dislike about summertime...  

Today is the first day of summer and so here are some of my favorite summertime things...

Patterned Shorts * Chambray Shirt * Floppy Hat * Fedora * Swimsuit * Cover-up 

                                    

Complaining

Today, I'm going to preach a little.  So, I'm writing this here and not on Facebook...mostly because I hate when people get all crazy in their status updates.  So, now's your chance...keep reading or stop.

There have been many times throughout my life when I have noticed what others are doing and it makes me so crazy that I stop doing that said thing myself.  Lately, that thing has been complaining.  I, myself, am a #1 complainer.  I have been my whole life.  However, lately I just can't take it anymore.  I am 98.9999% about to delete my Facebook account, because frankly I don't want to be friends with half the people I "see" on my newsfeed everyday.  

It makes me MENTAL to read people's comments complaining about how "miserable" and "horrible" their pregnancies are...especially from 2nd time moms.  You knew what you were getting into, sista!  Regardless, you should be celebrating EVERY day that you are part of creating a human life.  EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  There are so many women who would do just about anything to be in that position, to be pregnant...and carrying a healthy baby.  

I don't even know how to phrase an intelligent sentence to convey how badly I want to be a "miserable, uncomfortable, crazy, fat, sweaty, tired, etc..." pregnant woman.  And I  know that when that day comes, I will be beyond blessed and so fortunate to just be given the opportunity to be apart of something so remarkable.

Having a miscarriage changes a person.  100% changes them.  It changed me for the better.  I now recognize what is truly important in life and appreciate the little things so much more.

Everyone needs to stop dwelling on the "hard" times and realize how much they are blessed.  Pregnancy is a HUGE blessing.  Don't make it something ugly by degrading it.  I (and so many others) would gladly take your place.   

Questions

"But WHHHHHYYYYYYY, Mrs. Megan?!"

I DON'T KNOW...I JUST DON'T!

Friday Crush: Pillows

My last birthday present from Hubs finally arrived...so surprised and totally worth the wait! AND it matches!!

I REALLY need to get a better camera...the colors are so much prettier in real life...oh well.

You can get the same one here at Pottery Barn.

Name Recognition/Learning

I'm baaaaaaaack...finally settled in from the exhaustion of Disneyland last week!  I'll share all about that soon!

At the beginning of this year, B was so NOT interested in learning his letters or writing his name.  Even now, after working on letters for months, he has trouble remembering some of the ones we learned in the beginning...he just wasn't into it then. 

Now, he is 100% on board with learning EVERYTHING...especially how to write his name.  The past few weeks, on top of learning letters, I have done an activity involving his name.  I wanted to get him interested in it without forcing him to sit down and write.  He really enjoyed the name activities...I think it was because no "work" (aka writing) was involved.

These are all EASY little activities that you can throw together with things you already have at home.

1.  Stamps

2.  Rocket ship...This was an activity not only involving his name, but shapes and following directions (B had to put his squares in the same color order as my example...We wrote his name at the end.), as well as counting out a certain number of stars. 

This is from a few weeks ago and he had just started writing the letter B by himself...so cute.

3.  Foam letter stickers...This is when we were learning the letter N and discussing how it is part of his name.  I laid out a pile of letter stickers and he had to search to find each letter of his name and then put it all together at the bottom.

So, yesterday I decided that B needed to start trying to actually WRITE his name.  I wrote his name in a light color on card stock and stuck it inside a page protector.  **This is a SUPER cheap and easy way to get your kids (at home or school) to practice ANYTHING.  Put it in a page protector and give them dry erase markers and used dryer sheets (works perfect as an eraser!).** You're welcome!

B was a little wary at first about writing his name, but after I guided him through it the 1st & 2nd time, he was ready to go!  

Here is the picture of his 3rd and 4th time (1st & 2nd time ALONE):

Remember, this is the FIRST time he has EVER sat down to write his entire name...

Pretty impressive, right?!

Then THIS happened this morning...  

He wanted to write a "letter" to his grandparents and I told him to write his name on it, so that they could see what a great job he is doing.  (I did not expect that he would do anything past the B.)

His first reaction was, "I can't...there are no other letters."  So I talked him through it (showed him where to begin each letter and new line), but never touched his hand or the marker!

AMAZING.  I almost lost it, y'all.  I'm one proud nanny!!! Not only is it his whole name and he did it ALONE (no tracing, just listening and looking over at his practice sheet from yesterday), but we started this YESTERDAY and he is not even 4 yet!  Plus, look at the improvement on that B!

Birthday Wrap-up

This past weekend was my 28th (AAAHHHHHHH!!!) birthday.  I was fortunate enough to celebrate for two whole days...one with Hubs and one with the girls...so much fun!  

I won't go into a play-by-play of events, but here are two of my favorite things from my birthday.

1.  On Friday (my actual birthday), after a fun afternoon of doing all my favorite things, Hubs took me out to dinner.  We decided to eat somewhere new (to us) and our decision was DiGiulio Brothers.  Y'ALL...OH MY STARS.  I have no idea why it took us this long to eat at such a phenomenal restaurant.  Seriously, GO.  NOW.


2.  This.

My new beach bag/summer tote...Isn't it pretty?!  I pointed to this from across the store once on a grocery shopping trip to Target when Hubs was with me.  And then he went online and ordered it.  And surprised me with it when I woke up on my birthday.  MAJOR points for Hubs...I love it when he is secretly paying attention!!

So far, 28 isn't so bad...I just HATE the fact that it's SO close to 30.  (Dying a little...)


ANNNND I'm just a little sad that no one made me this......

http://www.theendlessmeal.com/birthday-cake-popcorn/

Guess there's always next year.  Hint, Hint.

Friday Crush : Gatsby

I am beyond crushing on Carrie Mulligan ( & Leo) in The "new" Great Gatsby.  I want it all to be real-life and I want to be IN it.  I want all of my future parties to be 20s themed and I am now on a mission to buy copious amounts of scarves and headbands to wear in my hair at all times.  

I can't possibly pick a favorite moment or outfit from this movie, but this is definitely one of them.  I adore the wardrobe in the scene below.  I know I would look just darling in her outfit and Hubs would kill in that sweater.  I just KNOW it.  So perfectly summer.

My new BFFs.  I DIE for these two.

I fully intend to own this in the near future.  Because in my next life, it's going to be true.

Summer Reading

Need a good book to read this summer?  This is one of my all-time favorites.  I have read it at least 5 times and recommend it to EVERYONE I come in contact with.  I read this book in one sitting (every time!), staying up until the very wee hours of the morning because I can't put it down.  Oh, and you'll cry like a baby...at least I did.  

If you like to read and need a new book, do yourself a favor and buy this one. It's really THAT good.

The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares

Photo: tumblemepinkk

Sunless Tanner Recipe

I have fair skin.  And I've always hated it.  HATED IT.  As a child we would go swimming all the time.  My mom would grease us down with SPF 1,000 50+, you know the kind that is so thick that no amount of "rubbing it in" does anything and you spend the whole day with white streaks up and down your body.  But that wasn't enough, I still had to sit and wait for the sunscreen plaster to "soak in" (like that's gonna happen) while I watched my sister and everyone else jump right in.  It was obviously soul crushing since I still remember it.  But, I guess I should be grateful there was no "t-shirt swimming" in my life, right?!  Maybe everything does have a silver lining.

Photo: Jacobs Stock Photography/Getty Images

In high school, I was forbidden from going to the tanning bed.  So, I turned to the lovely orange-hued spray tan and I LOVED it.  I seriously thought I should be on the cover of Bronzed Beauties or something.  I'm pretty sure I walked around the house in the shortest shorts I was allowed to own and a sports bra for DAYS after each spray tan.  I only got two...you're welcome, family.

I became more sophisticated defiant in college and decided I was going to the tanning bed whether my parents liked it or not.  Obviously, I didn't tell them.  

Since then, I have tried many ways to get (and stay) tan all summer and use as little sunscreen as possible.  Talk about being blonde dumb.  I did not listen to one single lecture from my parents about skin cancer (even though both of them have had numerous skin cancer spots removed) or let one single excruciating sunburn stop me.  But I'm old now and don't have time to deal with the ramifications of sunshine on my skin.

The sunburn I got a few months ago was one of the most painful experiences in my life thus far.  I had not been that sunburned in 5 years or so and it was AWFUL.  So, since I'm spending more money on sunscreen and big hats, I don't have any left over for professional spray tans.  Plus, I just don't have the time.  (I'm one of those people who can't do anything else on the day an appointment is scheduled because I'm so obsessed with being on time.)

Solution: 

http://www.thecreativityexchange.com/2011/05/recipe-for-the-best-self-tanning-lotion-2.html

I bought the exact lotions in the picture and I think they work great!  It took me forever to find the Banana Boat lotion in the light/medium color (Walmart was the only place I could find it).  

I have now used this "recipe" twice and I love it.  There is a slight smell, but I kind of like it and Hubs doesn't even notice it.  NO STREAKING either.  I put it on at night (every 3 days or so) after I shower and shave, let it dry for a few hours before going to bed and I'm golden, literally.  I mix enough for one leg at a time...equal parts of each lotion in my palm mixed together with my finger and then applied to skin.  WASH HANDS after!!  

So happy I found something CHEAP that works!  Everyone feels better when they are "tan", am I right?!

Enjoy Life

Ok, is it just me or what?!  I have been getting increasingly annoyed with Facebook and the people on it.  I deleted the Facebook app from my phone several months ago and I LOVE it. I was to the point where I was spending too much time "checking Facebook" and not enough time with actual human beings.  I was documenting every SECOND of my life, just so I could put it on Facebook so (people who really don't care) could see it.  LAME.  

Does it not mean anything unless other people can rave about how wonderful it is?  Why are we such show-offs, always trying to "one-up" everyone else?  

Ok, the end.

A few sayings that I love and need to practice more.

Pretty Planners

It's Teacher Appreciation Week and y'all, teachers need some love!  

May Designs is my obsession this week.  They make fabulous completely customizable planners and note cards.  You can customize what it looks like on the outside AND what type of pages you want on the inside.  There are so many patterns and colors to choose from and they're all amazing.  They even have "bump diaries" for all the expectant mommies out there!  The only reason I haven't ordered one yet is because I simply cannot make up my mind on which pattern I want.  

I am one of those people who like to physically write down everything.  I hate my iPhone calendar...it's little and not colorful or pretty.  I am a list maker, to the max.  And my favorite part about having a pretty planner to write in, is color coding everything in my calendar.  Totally normal, I know.

These are a fun, cute, personal gift for anyone (especially teachers!) on any occasion.  And just maybe someone will surprise me with a gift card to get one!

This is an example I made on the May Designs website.

I Work Out...

First, a shout out to Hubs...8 months!  Woot!  Can't believe our wedding day was that long ago, but I've been loving every second of being a wife!

A package came in the mail the other day for Hubs and I asked what it was.  He made the mistake of telling me it was one of my birthday presents.  That turned into one several games of Rock, Paper, Scissor to determine if I could open it early.  Long story short, I did not open it...until two days later.

The BEST decision (besides marrying him) that I have ever made was introducing Hubs to Pinterest, giving him my password and showing him my board "I want, I need".  Genius move on my part.  Genius.  I did this before my last birthday and have gotten awesome gifts ever since!  

This is my awesomely perfect "early" birthday present from Hubs.

This shirt is 110% me and I wore it all weekend while being sick in bed with stupid allergies.

In the husband department, I WIN.  Can't wait until my birthday is actually here to see what other surprises there are!  Let's just hope I stop finding packages in the mail or I might not have anything left!

May

My Birthday!  Cinco de Mayo!  Summertime!  Married EIGHT months!  

What's NOT to love about May...so excited this sensational month is finally here!

The Color Run

Last Saturday, we participated in the Color Run.  Y'all, it was a blast!  Seriously, so much fun.  Everyone needs to do it once, or twice, or a lot in their life.  Register early and make a team, you only need 4 people, and it's only $35 a person.  They give out tons of free stuff and it's a really fun experience...totally worth it!  So, everyone stop what you're doing and go sign-up...they are coming back to New Orleans in November!  It's perfect for ALL ages and there is no need to run.  It's meant to be a fun day, not some hard core race. 

Hahahahaha!

Spilt Milk

On Sunday morning, one of my BIGGEST nightmares came true.  And looking back, oh how I wish there was documentation.  Hubs wasn't even a witness, just my knight in shining armor.

Here's what went down...

I was super lazy Sunday morning and while Hubs woke up early and was mowing the grass, I was catching up on Lifetime movies...naturally.  Eventually, I went to the kitchen for some cereal.  As I was about to pour the milk in the bowl, I felt something crawling on my leg.  When I realized that it was a ROACH making it's way up my leg, I came UNGLUED.  UNGLUED.
My first reaction was to start kicking, flailing (with OPEN milk jug in hand) and SCREAMING.  Hubs was outside mowing the backyard when I ran out in my pjs exclaiming that he MUST come inside NOW.  All Hubs saw was me shaking and milk covering EVERYTHING in the kitchen.  It took a few seconds for me to convey what happened and that the roach needed to be killed brutally murdered.  

Now, Hubs could have reacted in a variety of ways, but he calmly killed the roach, hugged me and (while trying his hardest not to laugh out loud) started sopping up lakes of milk.

I spent the next 30 minutes or so taking apart appliances, draining out decorative bowls and the garlic container and wiping down every surface.  

Milk was everywhere, except for in the cereal bowl.  Not a drop.

I apologize that I didn't take a picture of the aftermath.  It really was quite a site and would have made this story that much better.  But, for those of you who know me well, I'm sure you have a pretty good mental picture by now.

Homemade Pancakes

I have many weaknesses and one of them is breakfast foods, particularly pancakes.  But only "homemade" pancakes that my dad makes.  It was a Sunday morning tradition growing up and I still get them every time I visit my parents in Colorado.  My dad uses a mix and adds milk, egg(s) and oil.  They are FAR more delicious than the mixes you only add water too...BARF or nasty old IHOP...double BARF.

I hurt my foot a month ago and had to spend a lot of time in bed the first few days.  Hubs was AH-MAZING and completely took care of me 110%!  That first weekend after hurting my foot, Hubs surprised me with breakfast in bed, flowers and a sweet card.  He is aware of my pancake "situation" and wanted to do his best to recreate my dad's pancakes.  But Hubs thought my dad actually made them from scratch and so he set out to do the same.

TOUCHDOWN. MATCHPOINT. CHECKMATE. HOMERUN.  (Do those even mean the same thing or make sense here?!)

Hubs completely surprised me by making the pancakes 100% from scratch and I surprised him by telling him my dad "cheats" with a mix.

The pancakes are sensational and he made them again yesterday.  God, I love this man!  I don't even care if they make me fat or anything.  I genuinely love that Hubs tried so hard to do something he knows I love and I enjoy every single second eating his delicious pancakes.

Sorry, dad, but Hubs is now right up there with you on the pancakes.  Now, if only I could master Mrs. Bunny's spaghetti or baked chicken without any help!

P.s...Hubs did have a little help from Martha and her pancake recipe...
http://www.marthastewart.com/338185/basic-pancakes

Sunburn Stress

Ok, so I'm kind of freaking out.  

 THIS...

Has turned into THIS...

And THIS is the dress I bought (2 months ago) to wear to a wedding TOMORROW night.

Yeah, soooo...I might be going shopping in the morning.

But, either way...CAN'T WAIT for Annie & Paul's wedding tomorrow night! SO EXCITED for y'all!  It's going to be amazing!

Be Kind

There are more important things in life than petty differences and unnecessary dramas.  Never jump to conclusions or talk about people behind their backs.  I have done this many times and have learned my lesson the hard way more than once.  Give people the benefit of the doubt and talk about things that have hurt you.  You NEVER know what someone is dealing with on a personal level, so don't be the person who makes it worse.  Sometimes it is BEYOND hard to do, but TRY to ALWAYS be kind.  More often than not, it makes a world of difference.

Weekend Project

This past weekend, I got it into my head that our front yard needed a makeover.  The problem is though that I don't really like flowers or shrubs...or the outdoors.  Hubs has a degree in Landscape Architecture and creates designs and layouts on a daily basis.  Perfect, right?!  He picks out everything and then we throw them in the ground and it looks like the gardens at Biltmore Estate.  Piece. of. cake.

Wrong-o.  

Our Friday night (we party hard) trip to Lowe's consisted largely of me not being able to make a single decision and hating everything as Hubs stood by and watched.  I am a VERY visual person and kept making Hubs lay out mock-ups for me with the plants in the aisles of Lowe's.  (We were there for quite some time.)  We FINALLY left the store with way less than we needed, because a.) we realized we were in my car and b.) plants are stupid expensive!  I had other ideas on how to spend that money...oh well.  

All in all, it was a gorgeous weekend and the new flower bed looks great!  Even though, it APPARENTLY takes months/years for plants to get big and fill out the space.  Disappointed.

Hubs did a great job doing most of all the work...I mean, we only had ONE shovel and my ankle is still not 100%, so...

BEFORE

AFTER

But, as a souvenir from the weekend, I did get this...

and YES, it is as red as it looks and hurts WORSE than you can imagine.  

This has not happened to me in YEARS and I did not miss it!  WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!

And oh how fun it was to get up and put on clothes today...

Painting with Kids

B loves to paint, but doesn't love it for long.  So, it's not my first choice for an afternoon activity...too much prep and cleanup for 7 minutes of fun.  However, right before Easter he found an egg painting activity and insisted on doing it.  I decided to give in, in the spirit of the holiday, and accept the fact that I would be wiping paint off of everything in about 8 minutes. 

And then IT happened.  My BRILLIANT idea.  The IDEA of a lifetime.

I had some tons of contact paper left over from the Easter activity B and I did earlier that day.  So, I cut a large piece and slapped it down on the table in front of B.  I then gave him the egg and paint and said, "Go!".  I told him it was OK to get paint on the table, but to try his hardest to avoid it.  (I didn't want him to think he could paint all over the table whenever he wanted.)

And this is what happened.  After his first stroke of the paintbrush on the contact paper (the table in his eyes), he looked up at me wide-eyed waiting to see if he could do it again.  I just laughed and told him to go for it.

He LOVED this.  He felt like he was painting all over the table and I knew all I had to do was peel it off when he was done. WIN WIN situation.   Bring on the painting projects!

Slap down some contact paper and let the paint fly! 

I'm sure many other awesome moms/teachers have already thought of this, but because I didn't see this on Pinterest (SHOCKER, I know!), I'm claiming it!  Here in my little world, I'm a modern day genius.  Thank you very much!

Summer Loves

It is feeling more and more like summer every day...HALLELUJAH!!  And summer = shopping...at least to me!  But I hate spending tons of money on single items, so I always try to find quality that is less expensive.  So, my favorite go-to places are J. Crew Factory and Target.  Here are 3 items that I have recently purchased that are inexpensive, but I guarantee (with proper care) will last you all summer and most likely through next summer too.  

T-shirt:  I discovered these lightweight v-neck shirts from J. Crew Factory last summer (and they still look great!) and seriously can't get enough of them!  I bought 3 more a couple weeks ago and they are even better than the ones I purchased last year (tagless, more vibrant colors).  They are so lightweight, comfortable, and cute.  I love me a v-neck.  OBSESSED. 

P.s...The J. Crew Factory store FINALLY opened at the Tanger Outlet mall in Gonzales TODAY.  GO!

Sandals:  I bought these from Target a few weeks ago and they are the best!  They are crazy comfortable because they are padded on the bottom.  Which means you can't feel every little rock you step on, like so many other flat sandals.  SCORE.  Plus, they are black AND brown...with a gold toe.  What's not to love there?!

Swimsuit:  I typically only buy one new swimsuit a year.  And I'm not a huge fan of buying super expensive swimsuits, because places like Target have really great ones that last for years...as long as you take care of them!